


Counting Stars With One Heart

by kitarin



Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-29
Updated: 2012-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-03 19:12:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/701693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitarin/pseuds/kitarin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the days directly after the last battle, the Gokaiger teams heads for some much-needed sanctuary and Marvelous asks them all an important question...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Counting Stars With One Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [psyco_chick32](https://archiveofourown.org/users/psyco_chick32/gifts).



> This was written as a birthday gift for my very dear friend, Kim. 
> 
> It's all your fault. Just thought I'd remind you. And say thank you. For everything.

_Azure._

The sky is so richly, deeply, velvety blue as Marvelous gazes up at it dazedly from his place on his back in the dust, surrounded by his crew, that he thinks it looks rather unreal. This moment is unreal.

_It's finally over._

The success feels like such a giddy adrenaline rush that it almost overrides the pain he's in.

Almost.

Even so, he wants to charge forward, back out into space, to find another dream to chase, _another treasure_ and he knows that his battered but eager crew would never tell him no, except…

"Captain, I highly suggest...” Ahim interrupts the torrent of racing thoughts she sees behind her captain's eyes as she looks down at him, upside-down, one curl hanging just above his nose. “...that before we embark on another adventure, we indulge ourselves with a lengthy vacation."

"...Vacation?"

"To recover… to relax?" The princess tilts her head and smiles, adorable even with dirt smeared across her cheeks, and beside her Luka nods emphatically.

Joe offers a hand and pulls Marvelous to his feet, an easy grin in place, but the captain remains befuddled.

"…Relax?"

*******

It happens with purpose, and yet, somewhat accidentally tumbles forth, just as most of their plans do.

As with all things Earth, they turn to Gai for suggestions, and eventually find themselves sailing their badly incapacitated ship to one of a series of deserted islands in a sea with aqua water so clear it's possible to see fifty feet to the sandy ocean floor.

"There are to be no weapons…" Ahim eyes Marvelous first, then Luka. "And no other training either…" Her gaze shifts to Joe, "And no fixing the ship yet…" She slides her eyes over to a sheepish Don before he can interrupt to ask.

"I've made binders of popular Earth beach vacation activities!" Gai says excitedly, handing one to each of his fellow crew as they stand in a circle on the warm, pink sand of an empty beach.

"Swimming?" Luka frowns doubtfully, already nervous about the broken boat sitting out in the water that she's anxious to get back to for more than one reason.

"What's a... hammock?" Don asks curiously, flipping through the book.

Gai watches as his friends look through the pictures he's provided, hands clasped and eyes shining, but it's obvious that what he's really waiting for is Marvelous' reaction.

Unfortunately, the captain isn't really paying any attention to the book at all.

Marvelous has, in fact, been even more quiet than usual in the few days since their defeat of the emperor, detached and lost in thought most of the time. The unopened binder drops down into one hand, tucked against his side as he suddenly addresses his crew.

"This is the time where you should seek your peace," he starts in his usual obtuse manner. "And decide whether you really wish to rebuild the ship and continue on together as a crew.

"But!" Gai tries to interrupt, his jaw dropping open in surprise, but he falls silent when Marvelous raises a hand, his expression far more serious than usual.

"If you want out, now is the time to decide," he adds, a little more softly, the edge of something else creeping into his voice. " _Especially_ you, Gai. For once we leave this planet, I can't guarantee when or even _if_ we'll return."

There's a long moment of silence where the entire crew shifts uncomfortably, eyes flicking around the circle at each other, and then Marvelous turns and walks off down the beach at a casual pace, his hands jammed into the pockets of his swishy red coat.

Joe's eyes follow his captain for a few moments, and then he sits down exactly where he is, informing the group quite nonchalantly. "I'm going to build a sandcastle."

*******

It's not a terribly large island, and Marvelous wanders down the coastline for an hour or two, thinking of all that's happened and all they've survived together. He's not even quite certain what possessed him to make such a statement to his ever-loyal crew, but with his own dream complete, with the ultimate treasure found… he feels… adrift.

Turning towards the ocean, he watches the waves break one after another against the shore, the water stretching out as far as he can see to meet the edge of the sky. The coast is a little rockier on this side of the island, and Marvelous realizes as his gaze travels that there's someone sitting on an overly large rock, a little ways out into the water.

It's Gokai silver, but it takes Marvelous a moment to realize so – his young apprentice is curled up on himself, arms around one knee and the other leg dangling off the rock, toes trailing in the water.  
For all the success and relief they've had in the last few days, Gai's posture shows he is deep in thought... and not exactly happy about it.

Interrupting him might influence his important decision, though, and so Marvelous strolls on, around the island to finish his circuit, approaching where they first came ashore.

The next crew he stumbles upon are his girls, both having changed into swimsuits to wander down the beach collecting shells for Joe's castle.

Ahim is predictably demure, in a pink one-piece with frills sitting just so across her hips and bosom, while Luka's black and white striped ensemble manages to be both functional and more curve-hugging than anything she's ever usually seen in. _Lucky~!_ The captain grins to himself and leers a little for a moment in secret, watching the two of them as they wander slowly, hands clasped affectionately between them.

Marvelous creeps a little further into the feathery grass of the dunes separating the beach from the inland forest, but keeping himself well-hidden means he can't quite make out what they are talking about.

They seem to be very deep in conversation, though, until Luka stops excitedly, letting go of Ahim's hand to bend and pluck something off the sand. Once she holds it up, Marvelous can see that it's a tornado shell – extremely rare to find intact – and she brushes it off excitedly before placing it carefully into Ahim's hand.

Ahim's delighted laugh is just loud enough to be carried on the wind to Marvelous' ears and she leans in to kiss Luka's cheek. Luka, though, not realizing that they aren't exactly alone, takes Ahim's hand again and pulls her in closer. Ahim lifts a hand to brush Luka's hair back from her face, and then they lean in, lips meeting far less delicately than Marvelous might have expected.

It makes him grin to see the two so happy though, for he can still remember the fierce loner in Luka's eyes and the empty exile in Ahim's, and how the bratty sisters routine that had slowly turned into a mutual respect and the ability to depend on one another equally...

"Aaaiiiiiyyaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

A wail interrupts both the kiss and Marvelous' creeping, and all three turn towards the source of the distress in mutual surprise. Marvelous can't mistake the sound of that voice ever, though, and he tenses, running quietly towards it through the grass even if he has to give away his stalking...

The incredibly shrill noise has come from their own Don, stuck halfway up a coconut tree, and Marvelous skids to a stop, a huge grin of amusement springing onto his face. With nothing life-threatening happening and the girls racing down the beach towards their engineer as well, the captain relaxes again, following quietly along from a distance to watch the action.

"Hakase! What are you doing?" Luka jogs towards their green with an eye roll, already knowing she's going to have to climb some trees herself before this is over if they expect to eat tonight. _I'm hungry... and Marvelous is greedy._

Marvelous can't quite contain his snicker as he watches Luka climb a nearby tree with ease, retrieving the coconuts while Don slowly slides down in defeat, and the noise is just enough for Ahim to catch wind of his location. Hearing her move through the grass, he debates - _There's enough time to escape... but do I want to...?_

"Captain?" The princess' voice is polite with question, but she knows he's there, and pushes the grass aside until she finds his hiding spot, letting the long green strands close behind them like a curtain.

"Princess," Marvelous grins, and then without preamble, he reaches out to wrap an arm around her waist, the other hand rising to stroke her hair when she lays her head against his shoulder.

"Spying is not on the list of recommended activities, Captain," Ahim says softly, but she smiles, relaxing against him.

"I won't apologize," he grins amiably, then kisses her cheek before letting her go.

"Ahim? Ahim? Where did you go?"

"Go on," he urges her, turning away to head deeper into the forest in the center of the island.

"Will you continue to follow us?" she teases, but isn't surprised when she doesn't get an answer. It's rare that Marvelous is ever that straight-forward. _But he always has his reasons..._

Marvelous only walks far enough to change direction, leaving the girls their privacy and instead circling back to tail Don and his armful of Luka-obtained coconuts back in the direction of the camp that's begun to be established on the beach in sight of where the Galleon is anchored.

In lieu of being allowed to repair the ship, Don has slipped into his other most common habit – cooking – and he carries the fruit back to the beach with a purposeful bounce in his step. And if he _accidentally_ drops one, no one will notice, ...right?

Back at camp, there's an elaborate sand castle now beside the fire pit and a pile of food Don had brought over from the ship already, and one Gokai silver derping seriously hard over the creation.

"Gai!" Don grins, dropping the coconuts in the pile and walking towards him to check out the castle.

"Did you see this castle?! Did you?! Wow!" Gai enthuses, circling the structure to study it from every angle, leaning in as close as he can without risking damage. Every tower is intricately carved, and he can't quite believe it's even _real_. "How did Joe do this?"

"Ah, heh, it's Joe, so…" Don shrugs with a smile that gives away his admiration, and then points to his loot. "Do you want to help me with dinner?"

Gai seems much cheerier than when Marvelous spied on him earlier, and when Don turns away, he jumps onto the blond's back, tackling him into the sand with a playful laugh. "Absolutely!"

Don yelps in surprise and they roll and tussle for a moment until Gai ends up sitting across Don's hips, looking down at the curly-haired boy. The captain can't hear what they're saying anymore, but he sees an opportunity when Gai leans down and kisses Don far more softly than Marvelous would have placed bets on.

With green and silver distracting each other, much to Marvelous' amusement, it's far too easy to snitch himself a snack that looks to have rolled _suspiciously_ far out of the pile... Slipping back into the grass, and then deeper in the forest, he tosses the coconut from one hand to the other, mulling over his thoughts yet again.

For a long time he'd worried that they'd lose Don – that they really had forced him into coming along against his will and that one day, he'd simply find the courage to bail. Marvelous knew now, for many reasons, that nothing could be further from the truth, though. He rather thought the engineer enjoyed looking after their motley little crew ...And even though it'd taken a little while for all of them to warm up to Gai's presence, especially Don, in the end, the Earthling's warm loyalty and his genuine enthusiasm had won them all over.

Truly, Marvelous hadn't really been worried about any of them wanting to leave the crew, but still felt compelled to ask their feelings at this unique crossroads… to know their hearts were still as one. Pausing to crack open his coconut prize, he drinks from it and then tosses the remains into the dense underbrush.

_And maybe the girls view talking as soothing… maybe Don and Gai relax best when they're cooking…_ but Marvelous already knows that only one thing has ever really been able to unwind him when he's coiled into this tight of a spring...

Joe never leaves much of a trail, but Marvelous knows him too well and follows it easily to find his blue in the center of the island, his clothes left in a pile beside a small waterfall. He wonders idly why it took him this long to seek out what he wants most.

Not bothering to waste any time, especially since he knows that Joe's keen ears will already know he's here, he strips off his own clothes and wades into the waist-deep pool.

His second-in-command is standing under the waterfall, eyes closed and hair streaming wet and long behind him, but he steps away and opens his eyes to regard his captain as Marvelous approaches in nothing but his golden lock necklace.

“Joe...” Marvelous says softly, his expression playful, yet vulnerable.

"Do you really need me to tell you again what I told you the day we met?" Joe inclines his head a little as he holds out a hand to Marvelous, beckoning him closer.

Marvelous shakes his head and smirks, closing the last steps between them. "This time, we'll choose a new dream together." They surge towards each other, lips and tongues meeting in a kiss as heated as their first, as Joe's promise from long ago echoes in Marvelous' mind.

_I'll follow you until your dream is accomplished._

Joe knows exactly how to touch him, lips dragging down his neck and talented hands tracing every inch of bare skin, and everything the captain has held so tightly inside his heart starts to unravel. This is always where Marvelous comes to seek comfort and understanding, to find himself again when he feels lost, he thinks in the last moments before he loses himself completely to the bliss of their embrace. _No matter where in the universe we decide to go next, whatever treasure or dream we decide to chase… Joe will always have my back._

It's only when the sun starts to set, the temperature dropping, that they leave the water and scramble back into their clothes as quickly as possible. And it's not something they usually do, but when Marvelous reaches out to take Joe's hand with a squeeze as they walk towards the beach, Joe smiles in surprises and squeezes back. They don't let go until they reach the camp.

By the time they arrive, it's dusk, with the sun setting rose and gold against the turquoise sea, and the smell of dinner is delicious enough to make both of their mouths water. Joe's castle is covered in tiny seashells and the girls have strung flowers into necklaces that they laughingly hang around the boys' necks as they arrive.

They eat dinner on one large Gokaiger-emblazoned blanket as the stars begin to come out, each a tiny pinprick of light in the darkening sky. After they're thoroughly stuffed, they all run into the darkened woods, laughing and calling to each other as they gather wood to build the bonfire higher.

The captain pauses, listening to the rustling footsteps and echoes of voices around him, the slow crescent of a smile on his face rising in time with the moon. _It really doesn't matter where we decide to go next... because when I'm with them..._

Marvelous is jarred out of his thoughts by a resounding crash, the collision of an armful of wood and one engineer sending him careening over backwards.

“I'm sorry, Captain! I'm sorry!” Don flusters, unable to decide whether to remove the twigs from his captain's hair or himself from the awkward kneeling position between his captain's legs. “I didn't see you in the dark!”

Marvelous only chuckles, reaching to ruffle the blond hair with one hand. “It wasn't on purpose,” he reassures, then after a beat, adds thoughtfully, “But that coconut was.”

Don colors slightly, but where in the past he might have looked away, now he holds his captain's gaze. “It was. To say thanks. I saw you come running when I up in the tree. You always... look after everyone.”

“We look after each other,” Marvelous protests, but he's grinning. _Happy._

“I also get why you asked us what you did this morning.” Now it's Don's turn to watch the surprise on Marvelous' face. “But it's a silly question.” Impulsively, he leans in to whisper into his captain's ear. “I enjoy following you. We all do.”

Marvelous can't decide if he's more surprised by the words or the boldness of the kiss that follows, but either way, he's stunned for just a moment afterward while Don laughs at him, gathering up the twigs with one final admonishment before he runs off. “Hurry up, there's marshmallows to roast!”

Marvelous jogs back to camp to find Luka cackling over the fire that she and Joe have indeed stoked to a rather ridiculous height, and a moment later, Don shoves a marshmallow on a stick into his hand with a teasing grin.

Despite the fact that he's the only one who's done this before, Gai manages to burn every single one of his marshmallows, all of which Joe happily eats. Marvelous and Luka get into a competition for who can eat the most the fastest until Ahim finally hides the rest of the bag under some leftover coconut shells and hopes no one notices. Slowly, one by one, they roll onto their backs to watch the sky above them, a thick canopy of stars in this dark and deserted piece of paradise.

_Perhaps we'll stay right here and sleep out under the sky tonight, appreciating this world we've worked so hard to save..._ Marvelous thinks to himself as he looks around at his crew. Not everyone's given him a direct answer to his question, but he doesn't feel the need to ask it again. 

For a long time, they all just lay there in a pile of clasped hands, watching for shooting stars and listening to the crash of the waves, not a single one of them wanting to fall asleep and let the day end.

"I've never really been to space… not the way all of you have..." It's Gai who finally interrupts the quiet moment, and though everyone's eyes are still focused on the sky, he can tell they're all listening intently. Pointing up at the sky, he asks, "So… which one do you think we'll visit next?"

A collective wave of relief passes over the crew and Marvelous grins, pointing at the brightest spot in the sky, then another and another… "All of them, Gokai Silver – together, we're going to visit all of them."

_When I'm with them, it's perfect._


End file.
